I Knew It Was You
by Romantic Reader
Summary: Edward a notorious rake, and Bella a poor maid were once childhood friends. When a chance encounter occurs and Edward mistakenly buys Bella at an auction, the two are thrust together again. Will Edward learn to love the woman who was always there...
1. Chapter 1

"Why would you want to buy a mistress anyway?" Edward asked his best friend Emmett, the Marques of Halverson. "You might as well look for a bride. Both will drain you of your energy."

"And bank account." Edward added as an afterthought.

"Because I could use a mistress of the manor." Edward rolled his eyes at Emmett's answer.

"I always hated Victoria's Gentlemen's club." Edward complained.

Victoria's was a club where not only men drank and gambled, but often bought a pretty wench for an outrageous sum.

Edward never paid for a woman; he thought it incredulous to pay for something that was often thrown at him for free, so he never frequented the club much.

"Well get used to it." Emmett replied.

"Why can't you just find a nice lady and settle down already?" Edward was genuinely curious.

"And leave you all alone?" Emmett scoffed, "Who's going to help you ruin all those eligible young debutantes if I'm leg shackled?"

"I think I'll be able to handle the ladies on my own." Edward joked.

"Well let's try not to find out." Emmett laughed.

…

"Happy Birthday!" Bella exclaimed to her friend and only source of solace in this godforsaken place.

"Oh thank you Bella!" Renesme flung her arms around her best friend.

They laughed and giggled, surrendering themselves to the happiness of this day.

"What are you girls doing?" Victoria, the caretaker of the girls asked.

"I'm sorry ma'am." Bella was quick to take the blame, knowing if she didn't then Renesme would be in jeopardy. "We were just celebrating Renesme's sixteenth birthday."

"Your birthday?" Victoria asked.

"Yes ma'am." Renesme couldn't help but smile in excitement.

"Sixteen huh?" Victoria asked.

Oh no. Bella saw the wheels spinning in Victoria's eyes. She knew this day was coming, but she didn't expect it to come this soon.

The only reason Bella avoided this terrible fate was because she was more valuable taking care of the girls and their needs.

"Today is another auction." Victoria looked expectantly at Bella.

"No."

The shock was evident, showing on both Victoria's and Bella's faces. In the ten years working for Victoria, Bella had never refused her anything.

"Excuse me?" Victoria's famous temper was starting to surface.

Renesme just looked on in horror at the two of them.

"I will not allow you to sell her off to the highest bidder." Bella stood up for something for the first time in her life. It felt oddly liberating.

"You won't allow _me_?" Victoria screamed.

"No."

"Fine." She huffed.

Surprise hit Bella. Could Victoria be so merciful?

"Renesme you'll take over for Bella." Victoria spoke to the frightened girl.

And to Bella, "You're up for auction."


	2. Chapter 2

"I told you we should have just gone to the pub." Edward groaned.

"It's not over yet." Emmett looked just as disappointed, but pride wouldn't allow him to admit he was wrong.

"Gentlemen I have one young lady left." Victoria announced.

Edward sat back in his chair, just glad that this was almost over.

A chorus of oohs and ahs went around the room and Edward looked up.

This girl was different from all the rest.

First of all she didn't exude confidence like the rest of the harlots, she was shy and unsure. She didn't look like she belonged in a scum place like this. In the right clothes she could almost pass as a lady, she just had that presence.

Of course she wasn't a lady though. She was a common whore, selling herself because that's what these women of lower statuses did.

"She's actually not too bad." Emmett stated.

"You're not actually going to bid on her are you?" Edward asked.

Emmett shrugged, "Wouldn't want to go home empty handed."

Something in the pit of Edward's stomach burned and he couldn't help himself.

Of course Emmett should have known Edward had a tendency to want what others wanted.

"I'll give you five thousand pounds for her!" Edward commanded before any of the other men could even make a bid.

Of course the other men were in shocked silence that someone would pay so high a price for a common whore. Emmett was the only one smiling.

"Sold!" Victoria would have been crazy to not accept right there and then.

Great. What was he going to do with a mistress?

…

Bella couldn't believe her eyes.

Edward Mason had just bought her. And for so high a price!

She wondered if he paid so much because of the past that they had shared.

It didn't really hit her at the time that Edward expected certain thing from her. He did buy her with the intent on love making.

As soon as Victtoria had shouted sold, Bella was ushered into the back. Just like the other girls who were sold, she had to be readied for the buyer.

_Edward._

It's been ten years since she last saw him and the fact that under these horrible circumstances something good came out of it was short of a miracle.

She wondered what he would say to her after all this time.

She never thought she'd see him again. After her father had died, being the Mason's estate caretaker, there was nowhere for her to go. She was left to wander the streets.

Edward had been her childhood friend, being that he and she were the same age and Edward wasn't allowed to leave the estate much. They were left to entertain each other. And even though they weren't of the same social standing the two became very fast friends.

When Bella was kicked out of the Mason estate, Edward was at boarding school, so she never saw him again.

Until now.

"I don't want you to go." Renesme greeted her in the back.

With all the confusion she forgot about the club and the girls in it that she loved so much.

"Look at me." Bella bent down so they were at eye level.

"I'm not going to leave you here." Bella stated, "I'm going to find a way to free you."

Renesme had tears in her eyes, "You promise."

Bella nodded, "On my life."

They embraced one last time.

"I'll see you soon." Bella said.


	3. Chapter 3

Edward waited the back alley of the club.

Discretion was Victoria's most prized asset at her club, and having the ton know about the lords buying women was a sure way to put her out of business.

Edward chastised himself for being so stupid. Why would he spend five thousand pounds on a whore!

It made no sense to him, but now that he had her he needed to figure out what to do with her.

Maybe she can spend her days as a maid, working to pay off the debt he used to buy her.

The handle of his carriage turned and soon enough there she was, sitting across from him.

There was something awfully familiar about her but he couldn't place a hand on it.

"Hello…" She started.

"My name is Edward Mason," He interrupted. "You can just call me Edward."

She was shocked into silence. He didn't remember her at all.

"I don't know how you operated at Victoria's but I require the utmost discretion." He continued, "The last thing I need is my reputation tainted even more because I bought a harlot from a brothel."

The nerve! She knew of men treating women with disregard, but this was just outright contempt!

"Yes sir." She nodded, fuming on the inside.

"What's your name?" He asked her.

"Isabella." If the name didn't register in his memory then she wouldn't even bother to tell him that they used to be childhood friends.

"Hmm…" He contemplated.

She thought she saw a spark of recognition in his eyes, but then just as quickly he went back to his normal rude self.

This was not the Edward she remembered from childhood.

"What do you intend to do with me sir?" She asked.

"I have half a mind to return you where you came from." He said.

The arrogant ass, "Victoria doesn't do refunds."

He sighed, "I know."

"I may as well put some good use to you." He said.

She misunderstood and thought he was talking about the ways of men and women in intimate relations. Immediately she turned beet red.

"I meant as my maid." He understood her reaction perfectly. "I have enough of that to last me a lifetime."

"Then why did you purchase me?" She blurted a little sour from his cold remark.

He shrugged, "I don't know."

She knew then that she would not tell him of their shared past.

It would be up to him to remember.

…

It was silent the whole ride back to Edward's home on Grover's Square.

It wasn't until the horses ceased walking and the coach stopped moving that she spoke again.

"I want to thank you." Isabella said softly.

"What for?" He asked.

She wasn't looking at him, and instead was looking out the carriage window. It was in that moment where he realized that she was sad. What for? He didn't know, but for some odd reason he wanted to find out.

"For bidding on me." She sighed, "For saving me from a place like that."

"That wasn't my intention." He didn't know why he was arguing his character.

"I know." She sighed, "But you were my knight in shining armor nonetheless."

She stepped out of the cab and up the house steps as if she knew where she was going.


End file.
